Cincinnati Bengals 7-Round Mock Draft: Post Combine Edition

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The Cincinnati Bengals won the AFC North last season by three games with a final record of 11 – 5. However, three of their losses came to other AFC North teams. On top of that negative statistic, the Bengals fell out of the NFL playoffs at the hands of a team that only made it to the playoffs on luck, the San Diego Chargers.

The Bengals have a few big problems on both offense and defense that head coach Marvin Lewis and owner and GM Mike Brown must address this offseason. However, Cincinnati is really only a few key players away from a consistent spot in the NFL playoffs for the next few years.

The 2014 NFL Draft is as good a place as ever to pick up talented players that could end up being with the team for a long time. The Bengals biggest needs are at cornerback, where they lack depth and their starters are getting on in age, and the offensive line, where the inability to block at times causes Andy Dalton to make bad decisions. Both of those are very deep positions in the draft and Cincinnati could find a couple players that immediately get playing time with the team.

Here is a 7-round mock draft for Cincinnati where I tried to focus not just on the best fit for the team and best case scenarios, but also on players that should be available when the Bengals make a pick. Feel free to comment in the section below with any players who you think might be a good fit for the Bengals in the 2014 NFL Draft, as well.

Taylor Sturm is a Columnist for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

Round 2 (Pick 23): LB Ryan Shazier – Ohio State Buckeyes

Round 3 (Pick 24): S Ahmad Dixon – Baylor Bears

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A popular criticism of the Big 12 is that teams don’t know how to play defense. However, with spread offenses that rack up a lot of yards, safeties like Ahmad Dixon learn to tackle quickly. His reaction speed, positioning and tackling could lead him to play for Cincinnati as early as game one.

Round 5 (Pick 24): QB Aaron Murray – Georgia Bulldogs

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Andy Dalton is either fantastic or terrible with very little in-between. Expect the Bengals’ to reach for a QB sometime in the draft. Murray had an off year, but has always been a big NFL target. He had a poor combine, so he could end up this late in the draft. In Dalton’s case, sometimes a little competition can be good.

Round 6 (Pick 23): OT Justin Britt – Missouri Tigers

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Missouri’s offensive line didn’t get a lot of credit last season, but they did a very good job protecting a running quarterback. Britt is the type of player that could be molded to fit whatever style of play his coach wants.